The universal joint is well known in the art and commonly employed for use in the drivelines of automobiles and trucks. The universal joint transmits power, motion, or both, between two rotating shafts. The axes of the shafts are always intersecting while the bending angle between them is permitted to change during operation.
A typical universal joint includes a pair of opposed yokes that are axially aligned with one another. Each yoke has a pair of opposed axially extending arms that typically define diametrically opposed bores for receiving the bearing cups that support a spider or trunnion. The trunnion is typically cross-shaped, having bearing ends that are sized to be received into bearing cups.
The bearing cups are typically secured to the yokes by means of a circumferential groove formed in the surface of the bearing cup and a matching circumferential flange formed in the openings of the yokes. Due to the sizing of the bearing cups and openings, the bearings must be carefully aligned with the yokes in order to insert the bearings into the extending arms of the yokes. The difficulty of this operation is compounded since the trunnion must be aligned with the bearing cups in the opposing yoke. Therefore, even minor variances in the alignment between the bearing cups and the openings in the yokes can impede the assembly of the universal joint.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide the art with a new universal joint yoke assembly and method of construction that eliminates the need for high precision machining and time consuming alignment between the opposing yokes and the trunnion while reducing fabrication costs.